Description

"...we are not exhausted, nor in process of exhaustion... we are gaining strength, and may, if need be, maintain the contest indefinitely"

Abraham Lincoln: Important Autograph Manuscript Page.
Twenty-three lines in Lincoln's own handwriting from his last State
of the Union address to Congress. One page, 8.25" x 13.75", on
plain lined paper in ink, no place [Washington, D.C.], no date
[December, 1864], being page forty-four (numbered in pencil by a
different hand) of Lincoln's own holograph copy. It reads, in full:
"To this ^again^ [added above the line] should be added
the number of all soldiers in the field from Massachusetts, Rhode
Island, New Jersey, Delaware, Indiana, Illinois and California,
who, by the laws of those states could not vote away from their
homes, and which number can not be less than [Lincoln had not
yet inserted the number 90,000]. Nor yet is this all. The number
in organized territories is tripple [sic] now what
^it^ [added above the line] was four years ago; while
thousands, white and black, join us, as the national arms press
back the insurgent lines. So much is shown, affirmatively, and
negatively, by the election. It is not material to inquirehowthe increase has been produced; or to show
that it would have beengreaterbut for the
war, which is probably true. The important fact remains
demonstrated that we havemoremennowthan we had when the warbegan; that we are not exhausted, nor in process
of exhaustion; that we aregainingstrength
and may if need be maintain the contest indefinitely. This as to
men. Material resources are ^now^ [added above the line]
more complete, and abundant than ever." [emphasis
Lincoln's]. An 8.25" x 4.5" section, consisting of the text between
"to enquire" and "contest indefinitely" was lightly
glued down to this full page from an identical sheet, covering no
writing underneath. One word slightly smeared by the glue, original
fold slightly weak (a tape repair on verso), light toning, else
fine.

This message was delivered less than one month after Lincoln,
running under the National Union party banner, claimed victory in
the presidential election over the Democratic "peace" candidate
General George B. McClellan, former general-in-chief of the Union
army. This was the first time a country had held a national
election in the midst of a civil war and the first time certain
states allowed soldiers in the field to cast ballots (the army gave
Lincoln 70% of their votes). The divided nation had been fighting a
brutal "brother against brother" war for well over three years and,
for most of 1864, Lincoln's chances of reelection looked grim.
Finally, some of the news from the fighting fronts was beginning to
give the North a glimmer of hope for a Union victory: General
Sherman had taken Atlanta and was marching forcefully to the sea
and General Grant had sent General Sheridan to the Shenandoah
Valley to deal with CSA General Jubal Early. Lincoln was ready and
willing to fight the war to its finish and to complete his goal of
abolishing slavery by getting the 13th amendment through
Congress.

Research shows that Lincoln began working on this important Annual
Message just a week after the November 8th election by writing
telegrams to several governors asking them to "[p]lease send, as
soon as practicable, exactly, or approximately, the aggregate of
votes cast in your State at the late election. It is desired with
reference to the forthcoming Message." Lincoln read his first draft
during a cabinet meeting on November 25th and then, on December
3rd, he called a special cabinet meeting to read them the final
version; the plan was to send it to Congress on the sixth. Lincoln
wrote this address in longhand and it was then sent to be printed
for distribution to the members of the house and senate. Unlike the
live worldwide media coverage given to the president's personal
delivery of the yearly State of the Union address today, in
Lincoln's era, the president did not read his message to Congress
himself. A newspaper reporter from California named Noah Brooks
wrote of the December 6th joint session of Congress: "Precisely at
one o'clock yesterday the private secretary of the President
appeared [John Hay] at the House of Representatives with the annual
message of the president... in a few minutes, Clerk [of the House
Edward] McPherson, in a loud and clear voice, took up the document
and began..." Another contemporary report stated: "A complete
silence pervaded the vast hall and the breathless, crowded
galleries"

In the message, Lincoln summarizes the current state of affairs in
different areas of the government, the nation, and the world:
foreign affairs satisfactory, financial affairs administered
successfully; national banking system acceptable to most; admission
of Nevada as state completed; territories growing; and Arkansas and
Louisiana have organized loyal state governments. He strongly
recommends that Congress reconsider and pass the 13th amendment
abolishing slavery [which they would in 1865]. The speech ends
with: "In stating a single condition of peace I mean simply to say
that the war will cease on the part of the Government whenever it
shall have ceased on the part of those who began it." The New
York Times described the message as "straightforward and
business-like" while the London Times called "the tenour...
decidedly warlike." Later that evening, a crowd assembled at the
White House to serenade and congratulate him on his message. The
New York Tribune of December 8, 1864, reports on his
impromptu address to the group: "FRIENDS AND FELLOW-CITIZENS: I
believe I shall never be old enough to speak without embarrassment
when I have anything [nothing?] to talk about. [Laughter and
cheering.] I have no good news to tell you, and yet I have no bad
news to tell. We have talked of elections until there is nothing
more to say about them. The most interesting news we now have is
from Sherman. We all know where he went in at, but I can't tell
where he will come out at. [Cheers and cries, 'He'll come out all
right.'] I will now close by proposing three cheers for Gen.
Sherman and the army."

A 1952-dated, notarized affidavit accompanies this lot describing
the chain of ownership for this manuscript, from its original owner
William P. Doyle, who was Indian Affairs Commissioner under
Lincoln, through to the current owner. Also included is a 1948
letter from the Abraham Lincoln Association mentioning Basler's
appreciation and a Photostat of page forty-three of this same
Message to Congress, owned at one time by the same person.

Carl Sandburg, in his book Lincoln Collector (New York:
Harcourt, Brace and Company, Inc, 1949), explains how a precious
few of the original pages in Lincoln's holograph have survived to
this day: "Of President Lincoln's Annual Message to Congress in
December of 1864, several manuscript sheets were given to various
persons by the Superintendent of Public Printing, J. D. Defrees..."
(page 190). Sandburg goes on to state that three of these
manuscript pages were contained in the legendary Oliver R Barrett
collection (later sold by Parke-Bernet Galleries in 1952). Basler,
in The Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln Volume VIII, notes
eleven known fragments of the original manuscript extant, including
this one (pages 136-153). The most recent of these fragments to
appear on the market was Lot 119 of the October 2002 Forbes
Collection of American Historical Documents at Christie's where the
eleven-line manuscript (ex Philip D. Sang) sold for $251,500
(with BP). That example was the top half of page thirty-nine. There
is no way to predict when the next offering of one of these
manuscripts will take place so please bid accordingly. The phrase
is, perhaps, overused but this lot truly does represent a "rare
opportunity to own a piece of history."

Auction Info

Auction Dates

June, 2009

16th-17thTuesday-Wednesday

Bids + Registered Phone Bidders: 5

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The resulting auction of my property overwhelmed me. I want to thank Tom Slater and the Heritage team for a very satisfactory experience and profitable result with my historical consignment.
Henry L.,Lexington, KY